Whats a better career, being a pharmacist, or being a physician?

Question

I'm having trouble choosing between the two. Pharmacy has been a long tradition in my family, and also is very rewarding, but being a physician is just as rewarding if not more. I want to be in medicine, for sure, im fascinated by, and i want to feel like i help people at the end of the day. But my concerns about these careers is this, pharmacy may be too boring, just counting pills every day, nothing new to examine and a physician has to go through minimum 10 years of schooling and deal with debt and malpractice insurance after. With all pros and cons put into perspective, what career is better?

Answer 1

What's a better fruit? An apple or an orange?

The real answer is personal preference. You should volunteer in a hospital setting and a pharmacy. By gaining experience in both fields you will be able to make a better decision as a career choice. No one can really tell you which one is better because each field has it's drawbacks and positives.

I know a some happy pharmacists....and have also met some who hate their job. Same with physicians.

If you're looking for a challenge, physicians are capable of obtaining more opportunities with their degree. (Hospital, private practice, research, teaching, etc). You should interview with physicians in different specialities and you should talk to pharmacists both at your local retail pharmacy, and a hospital pharmacist.

Answer 2

You are correct, most pharmacists count pills in a Walgreens all day. But not all. A research pharmacist has a very varied and imaginative career. Being a physician can also mean boring days with patients but can also mean interesting work and research. So it really depends on what you do with your pharmacist or physician degree, not the professions themselves.

However even if you want to be a research pharmacist, it still is better to get an MD if you ever want to work with patients because only MD's can actually work or supervise patient work. So, maybe if you are motivated and bright enough, get a pharmacist degree and license and then get your MD, then you can have the best of both worlds.

Answer 3

Well, you should know what is involved in pharmacy since it is a family tradition. A physician or any other specialisation is a very challenging and to me very satisfying career (unfortunately I am not in that line but if I could go back in time and do it, I would become a doctor).

Answer 4

Every career has some degree of monotony, but you'll probably have more fun as a physician.

Answer 5

who told u being p'cist is boring job?go to research field there r so much challenges,interesting job.
both r good but i think p'cist job is better.

Answer 6

pharmacist more oppurtunities